Final thoughts
The other two afternoon games have finished: the Arizona Cardinals defeated the Detroit Lions 42-17 while the Denver Broncos held on for a 16-10 win over the Oakland Raiders. There’s only one more game left for tonight, the Sunday Night Football matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants. This however, marks the end of tonight’s NFL liveblogging but stick with us at the Guardian throughout the season for comprehensive coverage. Thanks to everyone who stuck with me throughout this game, even when it really wasn’t a game, especially those who heeded my calls to contribute. Ciao!
This means that the Dallas Cowboys have fallen to 2-3. Thankfully they’re in a terrible division and should have Romo and Bryant returning.
Patriots win!
Patriots 30-6 Cowboys, FINAL
Jimmy Garoppolo comes in for the kneeldowns as the Patriots go 4-0.
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Patriots 30-6 Cowboys, 1:16, 4th quarter
Weeden keeps trying to convert this touchdown, it’s kind of sad, like trying to play a rigged ring-toss game at a carnival.
On 4th and goal, he misses everything. This is over.
Updated
Patriots 30-6 Cowboys, 1:53, 4th quarter
At the two minute warning, the Cowboys are at 1st & 10 at the New England 11 mostly because the Patriots defense is content to avoid late game injuries by just letting them run the clock
Patriots 30-6 Cowboys, 2:49, 4th quarter
The Cowboys continue to play, keeping alive a pointless drive because what else is there do do? It’s kind of an existential situation. They move the ball into Patriots territory as the clock keeps ticking.
Patriots 30-6 Cowboys, 4:42, 4th quarter
@HunterFelt Seems this is over, somewhat restoring my faith in cosmic restitution, which I had doubted when Greg Hardy was sacking people.
— Elena V (@amariselv) October 11, 2015
Fair point, although the mere fact Hardy is on a football field completely erases any concept of justice here.
Field goal
Patriots 30-6 Cowboys, 4:42, 4th quarter
A false start on Edelman (out of a timeout?) pushes the Patriots back to the Dallas 21. Lewis gains 5 yards. Dallas calls a timeout. Gostkowski comes in to make a short field goal. Only gamblers should care at this point about that though.
Patriots 27-6 Cowboys, 4:49, 4th quarter
Blount picks up 34 yards on a Cowboys defense that looks like it’s given up. They can probably figure out that math is against them. Blount picks up 3 yards on 2nd down. On 2nd & 7, Hardy stops Lewis from a gain. Dallas and then New England use their timeouts.
Updated
Interception!
Patriots 27-6 Cowboys, 6:30, 4th quarter
And it was inevitable. On 2nd & 9 at the New England 45, Logan Ryan picks off Weeden’s pass and takes it 27 yards.
Updated
Patriots 27-6 Cowboys, 7:03, 4th quarter
So, Dallas is still alive. Barely. Weeden throws to Terrance Williams for a first down. He’s starting to go long now, which is when crazy things can happen.
He then gets sacked for seven yards. It’s 2 & 17. Beasley picks up 7, Witten gets 6. They have to go for it on 4th down, and they do as Weeden scrambles for a first down.
Patriots 27-6 Cowboys, 9:47, 4th quarter
1st & 10 at the Dallas 36. Brady throws to Lewis, who loses a yard on the play. His next pass is very nearly picked off. On 3rd & 11, Brady and Gronk almost get to the first down line but it’s not enough.
They go for it on 4th and inches and... Blount can’t even get back to the line of scrimmage. The drive ends at the Cowboys 27.
Cowboys fumble!
Patriots 27-6 Cowboys, 11:14, 4th quarter
It looks like Weeden is about to start to piece together another interminable drive, which the Patriots wouldn’t be too upset about, but instead Witten fumbles the ball on the Dallas 43. Jonathan Freeny recovers it and takes it 7 yards. The play holds up on review.
Patriots 27-6 Cowboys, 12:58, 4th quarter
It’s a 20bouncer.... Okay, nevermind, that’s no better than “touchback.” I’ll come up with something here.
In any case, the Cowboys start at their 20. No wait, the 10 after Witten gets called for holding.
Touchdown Patriots
Patriots 27-6 Cowboys, 13:10, 4th quarter
IT DOESN’T MATTER THOUGH! On 2nd & 13, Brady connects with Edelman who goes ALL THE WAY. It’s a 59 yard touchdown for the Patriots and that might be the game there.
The extra point is good by the way.
Patriots 20-6 Cowboys, 14:22, 4th quarter
Edleman gets called for offensive pass interference, nullifying a 34 yard Amendola gain. That puts them back to their own 34.
Patriots 20-6 Cowboys, 15:00, 4th quarter
Big time first down completion here. Brady to Keshawn Martin for 16 yards.
@HunterFelt Looks like Mr Bellichik will have to deal w/more 16-0 questions. Didn't seem that way when the 5 sacks happened in the 1st half.
— Elena V (@amariselv) October 11, 2015
Considering what happened last time they did that, not even Patriots fans want to see them go 16-0 again.
Patriots 20-6 Cowboys, end of the 3rd quarter
Dion Lewis, player of the game so far, carries the ball to the 26 on first down. Blount picks up 2 yards and the Patriots let the clock run down.
Except it doesn’t and the referee has to make the announcement that the clock is wrong and it is indeed the end of the 3rd quarter.
Patriots 20-6 Cowboys, 1:22, 3rd quarter
Time is now on New England’s side. That’s the problem with Weeden, he has to piece together drives while Romo had the ability to regularly make the long throws that can insantly change games.
Oh and the kickoff results in a 20bouncer.
Field goal, Cowboys
Patriots 20-6 Cowboys, 1:22, 3rd quarter
McFadden gets one yard to set up a 3rd & 4. Weeden to Witten combine for only two. The field goal unit comes in and Dan Bailey makes the chip shot. Moral victory for the Patriots there.
Patriots 20-3 Cowboys, 3:14, 3rd quarter
This is exactly the run the Cowboys needed to make if they wanted to stay in this game. Randle gets the ball to the 8 yard line. 2nd & 5.
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Patriots 20-3 Cowboys, 3:14, 3rd quarter
Devin Street picks up 13 yards, Randle runs for 14, and the Cowboys are at New England’s 13.
Patriots 20-3 Cowboys, 5:38, 3rd quarter
The Cowboys in Pats territory now. Weeden to Randle results in exactly 10 yards. This is as big of a run as the Cowboys have gone on since the first quarter.
Patriots 20-3 Cowboys, 7:04, 3rd quarter
Then the Cowboys get hit with a false start to push them back five yards, but Jason Witten’s first reception of the game gets the 15 yards the needed plus one.
Patriots 20-3 Cowboys, 7:12, 3rd quarter
It looks like the Cowboys are going to stall at their own 37, but a penalty on the Patriots bails them out.
Patriots 20-3 Cowboys, 8:37, 3rd quarter
There is bad news for New England: it’s rib injury for Hightower who will not return to the game.
Joseph Randle gets the Cowboys into a 3rd and 1 situation and Christine Michael (wait has he been here this whole time?) gets the first down with a four yard run.
Patriots 20-3 Cowboys, 9:48, 3rd quarter
I am so sick of typing “touchback” that I’m tempted to invent a new word for it. Like “20bouncer” or something.
In any case, that’s what happened here. The Cowboys, in a huge hole, will have the ball at their own 20. It’s on you Weeden.
Touchdown Patriots!
Patriots 20-3 Cowboys, 9:55, 3rd quarter
And they’re too fast for the Cowboys to slow down. Blount gets them to the Dallas 16, an illegal hands penalty on Dallas gets them to the 10 and Dion Lewis gets them into the dnezone for a touchdown!
And of course the extra point is good.
Patriots 13-3 Cowboys, 11:28, 3rd quarter
On 3rd & 5, Brady and Gronk connect once again and this time for 18 yards to the Cowobys 23. And they’re doing the thing where they’re working too fast for me to type.
Patriots 13-3 Cowboys, 12:41, 3rd quarter
Blount picks up 4 yards, which sets up a first down run from Dion Lewis. 1st & 10 at the Dallas 46.
Patriots 13-3 Cowboys, 14:31, 3rd quarter
A holding penalty pushes the Patriots down to their 10 yard line. It doesn’t matter to Tom Brady who throws to a well-covered Gronkowski for 33 yards and just like that they’re on their own 43 in a blink.
Welcome to the second half!
Man that went fast. The Patriots will start at their own 20 after a Dan Bailey kick goes into the endzone.
Around the league
There are two other games going on right now, here’s where they stand as of like a minute ago:
Arizona Cardinals 28-7 Detroit Lions, 11:46, 3rd quarter
Denver Broncos 3-7 Oakland Raiders, 11:28, 3rd quarter
It’s the third quarter and the Broncos don’t have a TD? Man I don’t think I can handle 2015 Peyton Manning.
Halftime
So far the Cowboys defense has been impressive here, especially since they have the harder job of the two teams considering the quarterback mish-mash.
I expect more action in the second half though. What do you think? Remember you can offer your thoughts here by tweeting them to @HunterFelt or emailing Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com. I’ll be back super-shortly here with more news and commentary and such.
Patriots 13-3 Cowboys, end of the first half
Weeden kneels down and we head to halftime.
Field goal!
Patriots 13-3 Cowboys, :03, 2nd quarter
And then the Cowboys take a timeout.
And then... Brady throws incomplete. 8 seconds left. They bring in Gostkowski who makes a career-high 57 yard long field goal.
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, :13, 2nd quarter
Patriots start at their own 45 after Chris Jones’s punt. On 1st & 10, Brady is sacked again. Not the best job by the offensive line this game. But 2nd & 18, he connects with Edelman for a again of 24 yards. Wow. They’re at the 39 yard line with a first down but the clock is now their main enemy. They take their last timeout.
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, :59, 2nd quarter
It’s 3rd & 18 here and McFadden can’t even make up half of that. Cowboys punt and New England has a chance here to score once more before the half.
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, 1:02, 2nd quarter
Weeden’s day isn’t getting much better. He throws incomplete on 1st & 10 and then is sacked for a loss on 2nd & 10. Patriots take a timeout.
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, 1:12, 2nd quarter
Never mind, it was just an equipment issue with Jones. If this were a decade ago, I would make a “wardrobe malfunction” joke. Dallas has used their second timeout though.
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, 1:24, 2nd quarter
And, because Dallas hasn’t had enough injuries already, Byron Jones was hurt on the last play.
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, 1:24, 2nd quarter
Patriots go shotgun. Brady “runs” for two yards. 2nd and 8, incomplete pass to Amendola. 3rd and 8, Brady’s pass... is um not a good one. What a waste of an opportunity for the Patriots.
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, 2:00, 2nd quarter
After a holding call on New England, they will start at their own 48. They have all of their timeouts and will have the ball to start the second half.
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, 2:18, 2nd quarter
Weeden nearly throws a pick on 3rd and 5. Yeah that wasn’t happening.
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, 3:33, 2nd quarter
The Cowboys will start their own 18 yard line after a McFadden run. They have 3:30 minutes to work with and Tony Romo isn’t coming through that door. So, um, good luck with this Dallas.
Updated
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, 3:42, 2nd quarter
Patriots fans are a little happy about this.
Who's all fired up? WHO'S ALL FIRED UP!!?? #Patriots pic.twitter.com/LmLb9DHweG
— Accordion Man (@Accordion617) October 11, 2015
Touchdown!
Patriots 10-3 Cowboys, 3:42, 2nd quarter
Quarterback sneak! Tom Brady scores the rushing touchdown, which sounds funnier and more surreal than it actually is. Gostkowski’s kick is good. Patriots regain the lead!
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 3:42, 2nd quarter
Amendola picks up 5 yards. Lewis gets 9 yards, then 13 yards and suddenly it’s 1st & goal. Dallas takes a timeout.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 4:20, 2nd quarter
Brady and Edelman connect for 16 yards on the next play. It’s 1 & 10 at the Dallas 34... they’re getting into touchdown territory.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 5:57, 2nd quarter
The Cowboys appear to have halted Amendola but they get hit with a 5 yard penalty after being flagged with (rolls dice) illegal use of hands.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 6:47, 2nd quarter
Amendola receives Chris Jones’ punt at the New England 36 and runs 9 yards to their own 45. They need to take advantage of this field position.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 6:47, 2nd quarter
Cowboys will start at their 13 after a punt and a two yard loss on a Cole Beasley return. Randle picks up a yard on 1st & 10. They then lose a few yards on the next play, but McFadden looks like he has a first down...
But there’s a holding call on Ronald Leary to nullify THAT play. So it’s 3rd and 17. A Weeden pass to McFadden gives them 12 yards but (does math in head) that’s a bit less than 17 isn’t it?
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 8:49, 2nd quarter
Then the Patriots luck runs out. An offensive pass interference call, however, voids a 33 yard Amendola completion and the Cowboys D eventually strands them at their own 25 following a Brady sack.
We’re punting again.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 11:17, 2nd quarter
Random Patriots Running Back (this time Dion Lewis) gets a first down here. The Patriots run almost ends in disaster on the very next play, Hardy forces a Brady fumble which Edelman is able to recover. Patriots at their own 32.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 12:36, 2nd quarter
Oh hey, there’s Gronk. I vaguely recall that guy. The tight end picks up about six yards on his first touch of the day.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 12:50, 2nd quarter
Chris Jones’s punt puts the Pats at their 18. Injury update: Hightower is back in the locker room with an apparent rib injury.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 12:50, 2nd quarter
When they drew up this matchup they had to have thought it would be a high scoring affair. Not so much so far.
And this is another three-and-out, ending with a Weeden pass aimed towards absolutely nothing or nobody in particular.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 15:00, 2nd quarter
The Cowboys do a great job in stuffing Blount who can’t get that first down. Here comes the New England punt team.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, end of the 1st quarter
The Patriots get it to their own 49 in the last play of the first quarter. It’ll be a 3rd and short situation when play resumes.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 1:46, 1st quarter
LaGarrette Blount is in the game for the first time. Blount gets , and there’s a Greg Hardy penalty, illegal use of the hands. Why do bad things happen to garbage people? That’s a five yard penalty tacked on.
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 2:29, 1st quarter
Bailey’s kick goes into the endzone for a touchback.
Oh and there have been some other finals here.
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 in overtime, shortly after this game started. Also in overtime, the Cleveland Browns nevermore’d the Ravens 33-30.
Field goal!
Patriots 3-3 Cowboys, 2:29, 1st quarter
The Patriots manage to hold the Cowboys to a field goal. Dan Bailey’s kick ties it up. Has the Inexplicably Bad Field Goal Plague finally been contained in the NFL?
Patriots 3-0 Cowboys, 3:23, 1st quarter
Randle gets 13 yards and a first down the very next play. They’re in Patriots territory.
Patriots 3-0 Cowboys, 4:03, 1st quarter
You give a team this many replays, eventually they’re going to take advantage of it. Weeden finds Cole Beasley for a gain of six yards and a first down.
Patriots 3-0 Cowboys, 4:57, 1st quarter
Hightower’s return is questionable. Meanwhile, it’s still 2nd and 8. Randle gets stuffed for no gain. 3rd and 8... a neutral zone infraction on Rob Ninkovich. That’s a 5 yard gain and 3rd down will be replayed.
And, on the next play, there are penalties on both teams. So it’s 3rd down again, now at the Dallas 40.
Patriots 3-0 Cowboys, 6:38, 1st quarter
It’s 1st and 10 now for Dallas at their own 33. In the next play, the pick up two yards on a Randle run. During the play, Dont’a Hightower gets injured and has to leave the game.
Patriots 3-0 Cowboys, 7:07, 1st quarter
The Cowboys start on their own 20 again after a touchback. Joseph Randle gets the Cowboys in a 3rd and 2 situation where a Jamie Collins sack gets nullified by a holding call on New England.
Field goal
Patriots 3-0 Cowboys, 10:08, 1st quarter
The Hardy sack turns out to be key, as the Patriots find themselves unable to get a first down here. Instead they have to settle for a field goal after stalling at the Dallas 31. Gostkowski’s kick is good.
Updated
Patriots 0-0 Cowboys, 10:08, 1st quarter
Can the Patriots capitalize on their field position? Brady connects with Dion Lewis for 14 yards, but on 1st and 10... there’s Greg Hardy, sacking Brady for a loss of seven yards and he is very, very clearly playing with a chip on his his shoulder.
Patriots 0-0 Cowboys, 10:38, 1st quarter
Amendola returns the Dallas punt 25 yards to the Dallas 45.
Patriots 0-0 Cowboys, 11:17, 1st quarter
The punt puts the Cowboys on their own 13 and... it’s another 3-and-out after Dont’a Hightower sacks Weeden on 3rd and 2.
Patriots 0-0 Cowboys, 13:22, 1st quarter
The Cowboys defense puts on the pressure. Tom Brady throws two straight incomplete passes and then gets sacked for a 9 yard loss and out of field goal range. They will have to punt too.
Patriots 0-0 Cowboys, 13:33, 1st quarter
Danny Amendola returns the punt to the New England 32. On 1st & 10, Julius Edelman runs a great route for 21 yards AND there’s an unnecessary roughness penalty. That’s an additional 15 yards tacked on, putting the Pats at the Dallas 32.
Patriots 0-0 Cowboys, 14:21, 1st quarter
Patriots force a 3rd and 8 situation on Cowboys and Weeden’s throw is incomplete. They will punt. Not the best offensive start.
Kickoff
The Cowboys win the coin toss and decide to start with the ball. Gostkowski’s kick hits the endzone for a touchback so they will start at their 20.
Updated
Around the league
The Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals are tied at 24-24 in overtime. The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens might be headed there too, they’re tied up 30-30 close to the end of the fourth quarter.
Arizona Cardinals/Detroit Lions has also kicked off, but it’s time for our game here.
Around the league
And the Chicago Bears add insult to very literal injury, defeating the Charles-less Kansas City Chiefs 18-17.
Around the league
The Green Bay Packers knock off the St Louis Rams 24-10. Their record improves to 5-0 as well. It’s not all good news, Aaron Rodgers actually threw an interception for the first time since the Great Deluge.
Around the league
The Falcons stay undefeated. They’re now 5-0 after a Kirk Cousins interception was returned for a touchdown in overtime which is exactly how that game was supposed to end. Final score: 25-19.
Around the league
It’s a final in Philly, as the Eagles defeat the New Orleans Saints 39-17. Chip Kelly delays going back to college one more week.
Around the league
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 38-31 in the One Of These Teams Needs To Be Relocated Bowl.
Around the league
The Atlanta Falcons and the Washington (Jeb Bush Doesn’t Find This Term Offensive)s are heading into overtime 19-19. The 4-0 Falcons trying to avoid a major upset here.
Around the league
In our first final of the afternoon, Buffalo Bills defeat the Tennessee Titans 14-13. I’m not entirely sad to have missed that particular game.
Cowboys inactives
Cowboys inactives are Kellen Moore, Brice Butler, La'el Collins, James Hanna, Dez Bryant, Randy Gregory and Ryan Russell.
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) October 11, 2015
See what I mean? Also, the recently acquired Matt Cassel will be the backup quarterback, so there’s a very real possibility that he will be facing his old team.
Patriots inactives
#Patriots Inactives pic.twitter.com/Clop4pjkJE
— PatriotsNation™ (@Jordanems) October 11, 2015
Aaron Dobson’s probably the most significant name on this list, which is a sentence the Dallas Cowboys would kill to be able to say.
As far as my thoughts on the whole Hardy situation, Katie Nolan expressed them much better than I ever could on a powerful segment in her FS1 show “Garbage Time” earlier this week.
Tweets
@HunterFelt Jokes? I got one. “Greg Hardy is still a professional football player."
— Kevin (@RedSoxRedShoes) October 11, 2015
More funny sad than funny “ha ha.”
Tweets
@HunterFelt how about Patriots win by playing fairly
— Graham Tattersall (@gtat8) October 11, 2015
Then we would have to axe our “How did the New England Patriots cheat this week” feature in our weekly NFL roundup. Why take that fun away from us?
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Jamaal Charles
First we must mention the biggest news of the day so far. Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles suffered a serious-looking knee injury in their game against the Chicago Bears. Early reports suggest it could be an ACL tear, but he’s still being evaluated.
Hello everyone welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of what should be an… eventful game between the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. When the schedule first came out, this was probably supposed to be more of a marquee matchup than it is now. Theoretically, this is is a game between the reigning Super Bowl champions and a Cowboys team that were essentially one ruling on a Dez Bryant catch away from appearing in the NFC Championship Game.
But this is not that Cowboys team. With Tony Romo on the sidelines, the Cowboys have been forced to go with the at-best mediocre Brandon Weeden at quarterback and will be playing without the injured Bryant, one of the most dangerous receivers in the game. They’ll have to face an undefeated Patriots team who has had an extra week to prepare and are eager to get revenge on everyone in the league after the Deflategate fiasco.
The main story of this game has nothing to do with the Ideal Gas Law, unfortunately it’s about a much more serious matter. Cowboys defensive lineman Greg Hardy is making his return to the NFL after a four game suspension he received after being convicted of domestic abuse (the conviction was later dismissed when the accuser would not cooperate). Rather than showing any contrition in his first media appearance after serving his suspension, he instead made inappropriate comments about Tom Brady’s wife and used the term “guns blazing,” not the wisest choice of words considering the nature of the allegations against him.
And then there was the rap video.
Hardy’s return, and his apparently indifference in rehabilitating his image, means that the Patriots, for the first and maybe only time this season, are the least controversial team in this matchup. Crazy right? Hopefully you’ll join me in covering it by tweeting @HunterFelt or emailing Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com with predictions, comments, questions or really anything NFL related.
It’s the New England Patriots vs the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. We’re less than an hour away from kickoff, but we’ll be back much sooner than that with news and scores around the league.
Hunter will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s Paolo Bandini’s preview of Monday’s game between the Steelers and Chargers:
With a better kicker, Pittsburgh could be 3-1. After losing Shaun Suisham and Garrett Hartley to injury in preseason, the Steelers cut Josh Scobee last Saturday in the wake of two costly misses during their overtime defeat to Baltimore. Into his shoes steps Chris Boswell, who has spent time with the Texans and Giants but is yet to attempt a field goal in a professional game since going undrafted last year.
Unfortunately, his signing does not address this team’s biggest problem: the absence of injured Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. Michael Vick was not terrible in replacing him last week, but nor does he provide anything like the same threat. Where Big Ben was averaging 10.2 yards per attempt this season, Vick has produced exactly half that figure thus far.
He will have an extra weapon this week as Martavis Bryant returns from suspension, but so too will San Diego, for whom Philip Rivers has likened the end of Antonio Gates’s ban to “acquiring a Hall of Fame free agent”. The Chargers, though, have their own problems in the form of a decimated offensive line or a defense that recently allowed Josh McCown to throw for 356 yards. I think the extra few days of rest after playing on Thursday last week might just give Pittsburgh the edge. Steelers to win
